What About The World Today
by Stephensmat
Summary: Dale did something he couldn’t take back at the end of Vox Populi. You don’t just forgive or forget something like that.


Skylar was about to pull a straight flush when Dale folded, and Jake Green came into the store. "Hey kids." 

"Hey Jake, what can we get you?" Skylar chirped.

"I'm not here to trade. Dale, can we talk?"

Skylar scooped up the cards and nodded at Dale. "I'll wait outside."

When she made it to the door, she stopped and peeked back in to watch.

"Dale, we found Mitchell." Jake said.

Skylar bit her tongue to keep from gasping, and Dale turned to stone. "Where?"

"Outside of town about halfway between here and Jonah's compound. It looks like a single shot to the chest. He's been dead for a while. Weeks at least."

Dale nodded. "Around the time Gracie died."

"Jonah was quick to tell us that he had nothing to do with Gracie, so..."

"You think Jonah killed Mitch?"

"Or ordered it, that's the theory." Jake agreed. "Word was that Mitchell was working without Jonah's permission, and he was running an extortion racket with some of the businesses that have managed to stay open, threatened some people."

"He did." Dale put in. "He came in here the day after I re-opened the store."

"And after what happened with Gray, Jonah has to keep his people in line, and the only way he can do that..."

"So what happens next?" Skylar asked from the door.

Jake turned and looked at her. "Next, nothing. Mitchell killed Gracie: he's dead. There's no way to prosecute him any more, and in all likelihood we'll never know for sure who killed him."

"It's over." Dale said quietly.

Jake nodded sympathetically. "Anyway, that's the end of it, but I figured you'd want to know."

"Thanks Jake."

Jake nodded at him, then at Skylar and headed out.

When he was safely out of earshot, Skylar came over to Dale. "You didn't tell me that he threatened you the day you re-opened."

"Didn't I?"

"You told me not to worry about it, and he didn't come back so figured there wasn't any problem. Why didn't you tell me? We could have gone to Jake and Mayor Gray..."

"And they would have done what?"

That stumped her for a second. No real prison, no real police force... "Well I don't know, but something."

Long silence.

"I did it."

Skylar looked at him, confused. "Did what?"

"He came in here, put me into the wall and put a knife to my throat. He told me to give him half the Store's income or he'd kill me like he did Gracie. I went to Jake, who went to Gray, and he traded Mitch for Jonah, and then both simply walked out."

Skylar didn't speak, starting to comprehend...

"And... I knew he wasn't going to stop, and I knew that even if Jake or Hawkins arrested him again, that wouldn't mean anything really...because they cant keep feeding prisoners when things are this tough, and they couldn't march him out without him sneaking back, and they cant put a guard on this one shop 24/7..."

Skylar eyes doubled in size. Couldn't be...

"And I found the gun that Gracie kept under the counter, the one you used when those robbers came. I got my bike and went out to Jonah's compound..."

Skylar was breathing hard, willing him not to say it, not to keep going...

"I killed him." Dale whispered.

Long silence.

Skylar's face went from shocked, to horrified, to nauseous and then back to horrified again.

Finally, she turned and ran out of the store.

Dale didn't go after her.

* * *

The words kept echoing over and over in her head on a loop. _I killed him. I killed him. I killed him. I killed him. I killed him._

She made it to Mary's Tavern, not really having a destination in mind. She scanned the room without really seeing it. The room was full of the refugees that had dragged their way into town weeks before. The doctor from Rogue River was over at the jukebox; Emily was picking out songs. Mary was talking to Eric Green behind the bar. When she saw Jake and Gray sitting at a table, the other thing that stuck in her mind started echoing. _And they would have done what? And they would have done what? And they would have done what?_

She went over to the jukebox. "Hi." She said to Dr Kenchy.

"Hello." He slurred back. "You're too young to be in a bar."

"Yeah." Skylar agreed. She pointed at the jukebox. "Hey! Look at that!"

Kenchy turned to look and she snatched the cup out of his hand and downed the moonshine in a single gulp, then coughed and spluttered her way over to the table where Jake and Gray sat.

"You okay Skylar?"

For a microsecond she wanted to tell him what she had just learned, but she couldn't get the words past her throat. "Fine."

And they would have done what?

The jukebox started it's next song. A lonely voice in the dim candlelight.  
_  
"See the devil on the doorstep now (my oh my)  
Telling everybody oh just how to live their lives  
Sliding down the information highway  
Buying in just like a bunch of fools  
Time is ticking and we can't go back (my oh my)_

_What about the world today?  
What about the place that we call home?  
We've never been so many  
And we've never been so alone…"_

Finally Skylar sat down. "Can I ask, if Mitch had lived and you'd caught him, what would you have done with him?"

"Funny, we were just discussing that." Gray said. "The fact is, we can't keep them behind bars for long. The local Police station has enough room for one or two, but it's essentially a place to let drunk and disorderly people sleep it off, and go home by morning."  
_  
"You keep watching from your picket fence  
You keep talking but it makes no sense  
You say we're not responsible  
But we are, we are  
You wash your hands and come out clean  
Fail to recognize the enemies within  
You say we're not responsible  
But we are, we are, we are, we are_

_One step forward making two steps back (my oh my)  
Riding piggy on the bad boys back for life  
Lining up for the grand illusion  
No answers for no questions asked  
Lining up for the execution  
Without knowing why…"_

"The idea we were kicking around was to make it a community service kind of thing. We've got plenty of disgusting jobs that nobody really wants to do now. The hard part is not putting them to work, it's where to keep them the rest of the time."

_"You keep watching from your picket fence  
You keep talking but it makes no sense  
You say we're not responsible  
But we are, we are  
You wash your hands and come out clean  
Fail to recognize the enemies within  
You say we're not responsible  
But we are, we are, we are, we are…"_

"So while the orphans who cant bring themselves to steal food are starving to death, the murderers get brought food and shelter for free because we don't know what else to do?" Skylar bit out bitterly.

"Skylar, it's not a perfect world, there are no perfect solutions. But at Black Jack, the price for shoplifting is death by hanging, we've got to try and be better than that. Surviving alone isn't really enough to keep you human."

"Says the man who tried to shoot Mitchell in the back, and lynch Jonah in the middle of the street." Jake mumbled.

Gray glared back.

Skylar, having had enough of this entire subject, wandered back over to the jukebox, where Dr Kenchy pulled his new drink closer protectively.

She sat herself down and let the heavy guitar wash over her.

_"It's all about power then  
Take control  
Breaking the rule  
Breaking the soul  
They suck us dry till there's nothing left  
My oh my, my oh my…"_

What horrified her was that Dale was capable of this. The same guy who had blisters covering his feet, because he hadn't wanted to tell her that the shoes she scrounged him were a size small, was actually capable of this most terrible thing?  
_  
"What about the world today  
What about the place that we call home  
We've never been so many  
And we've never been so alone..."_

Roger came into the bar and sat down next to Emily. "Jukebox working again?"

"Yeah."

"How does it keep getting damaged so often?"

Skylar picked up an empty cup off a table and threw it at the jukebox, before turning on her heel and storming out.

Sending Heather a concerned look, Emily nodded. "That's how."

* * *

Three days later, Skylar awoke from a restless sleep to a knock at the door. Skylar looked around the room. No Dale. He still hadn't come back.  
_  
Why is he's still avoiding me? _Skylar thought distantly. Then the next thought came to her, as it always did when thinking about the fight with Dale. _Why are you still avoiding him?_

She looked out the window. The sun was high in the sky. It was late morning, maybe early afternoon. Dale's baseball bat was curled under her head like a pillow, with her still holding the grip tightly, and Skylar felt ill.

Another knock. She forced herself to get off the couch and answered it.

It was Heather. "Hi Skylar. Is this a bad time?"

Skylar rubbed her eyes hard. "No. What's going on?"

"School."

Beat.

Skylar pointed down. "Your shoelaces are untied."

Heather broke eye contact and looked down. Skylar took the opportunity to slam the door shut.

"Skylar, we're reopening the school tomorrow." Heather called through the door. "But you aren't in it anymore."

That got Skylar attention enough to make her open the door again, and heather pushed her way inside. "It's like this: We cant let the kids keep running around the town indefinitely, and what they'd learn in regular school wont do them much good any more anyway, so we've got to adapt the curriculum."

"To what?"

"Practical skills." Heather pulled out a notepad. Skylar recognized it as Dale's and felt heartsick. "I would have told you before, but I haven't seen you at the store, and I've been all over the place getting this set up."

"It's fine."

Heather noticed Skylar's reaction to the notebook. "Skylar…" She started carefully "Jake told me about finding Mitchell's body, and about you at the Tavern ten minutes later. Is everything okay with Dale?"

"Fine."

"Because I saw him that night and he seemed kind of-"

"He always seems like that." Skylar said shortly.

Heather let it go. "Well anyway, Dale and I were speaking last week. I work at the library and he had lots of questions after the bombs fell. Questions about how to improvise things, or how things worked..."

"I know." Skylar muttered.

"This is one of his old notebooks. Rainwater, food, greenhouses, eggs, milk, how to churn butter or cheese, how to make an engine work..."

"He knows all that stuff."

"But the kids don't." Heather said. "So I asked Dale for his notes, and made a lesson plan out of them, then I took it to the Mayor, and he said yes. School reopens tomorrow, reading, writing, math and raising animals. Making clothes, saving water... everything a kid needs to know now. You and Dale are already working, so you aren't obliged to come. If you want to, you are always welcome of course."

"Sounds good." Skylar said, only half listening.

"Tuesday through Thursday we go through the farms, teach kids how to raise animals or crops, Stanley's already on board."

"Okay."

"Friday we go to town. The Town hall, the store, the Tavern..."

"Good, because all the first graders need to know how to build a still."

"I've written it down as 'How to make Cleaning solvents and Antiseptics' actually. Kids also need to learn how their leaders get picked, how we trade things now, and since you spend so much time helping Dale, and since he isn't much for public speaking, i figured I should give you a heads up to get a few notes together if they ask any questions."

"Well what does Dale think?"

Heather looked surprised. "He said yes two days ago Skylar. He didn't tell you?"

Skylar looked down. "We haven't spoken in a few days."

Heather stared at her. "Skylar, what the hell happened between you two last Friday?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll be ready." She stood up. "Just out of curiosity, how are you going to grade them on this stuff?"

Heather shrugged. "I'm not. If they do well at making new clothes, they'll have new clothes to wear. If they do good at growing food, they'll eat."

Skylar stared at her and suddenly started crying.

Heather was alarmed. "Hey! What's wrong?"

She rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry... I just... god Heather, I feel so old. I'm a relic, as out of date as a dinosaur. One of the last generation in Jericho who'll remember what it was like to have McDonalds for lunch."

Heather chuckled. "It does take some getting used to doesn't it?"

Skylar shook her head. "I don't know that i ever will."

Another knock on the door.

"It's open." Skylar called.

Lucy came into the living room a moment later. She looked awful. Her face was drawn, her eyes were red, and her skin was pale.

Skylar stood up in alarm. "Lucy, what's wrong?"

* * *

Dale was sitting behind the counter at the store, slicing an apple slowly with a pocketknife, when Skylar came in briskly. She looked absolutely shy about it. "Hi?"

Dale saw her and stared at his shoes. "Hi."

"Can we talk?"

Dale gestured to the back storeroom, and she followed him.

He sat on the cot in the back of the storeroom Skylar pulled over a crate and sat down opposite him.

Long silence.

"Gracie took you in when your parents died. Mitch orphaned you again. And Gray got you nowhere in return. Was that why?"

"It wasn't the only reason." Dale said, still not looking at her.

"What I mean is, if he hadn't made it personal, if it had been me he threatened and not you, or if it had been Heather killed and not Gracie, would you have done the same?"

"I don't know."

Long heavy silence.

"Lucy's brother is dead."

Dale looked up in shock.

"He tried to rape Lisa outside her home last night. Lisa's dad shot him. Lucy told me this morning. She can't believe her big brother would do anything like that to her friends." Skylar had tears in her eyes. "And if I hadn't had you living with me all this time, it could have been me." She wiped the tears away angrily. "Every time I think I've got a handle on the world now, something like this happens. I heard what you had done, and I honestly couldn't believe it was you Dale."

"If the bombs hadn't fell, the law would be enough. I never would have done it." he told her.

"If the bombs hadn't fell, Gracie wouldn't have gotten hurt. If the bombs hadn't fell, lots of things would be different." She sniffed. "Including us. Every other fact of life got tossed out the window..."

"It was still wrong." Dale whispered.

Skylar suddenly understood. Dale was hating himself, and the first person he had told avoided him like the plague for three days afterward. She reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. He flinched heavily. "I don't care. I sure don't care about Mitch, I care about you. You're in pain. You've been in pain for a long time. Something had to give, and you..." She trailed off. She couldn't quite figure out what to say after that.

Dale dared to glance at her face for a fraction of a second. "I saw the way you looked at me, and I still cant figure out why I told you."

"I can." Skylar said softly. "It's because you wanted me to forgive you. You are a good person in a bad place full of bad things, you want someone to tell you it'll be okay, and that you're forgiven. You cant tell anyone else, and you cant undo it, and your mom is gone, Gracie is gone, the mayor would lock you up, so your left wondering if things can ever be right after this... "

Dale was crying. "Skylar, I don't even know what 'right' _is _any more."

Skylar was crying too. She stood up and gave him a hug. He froze solid at her touch before barely forcing himself to put his arms around her too. She buried her face in his shoulder, he buried his in her hair. For a long moment they just sobbed into each other.

"I'm sorry." Dale whispered.

"Come home." Skylar whispered.

Dale nodded into her hair and picked up his jacket as she led the way out.

THE END


End file.
